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Six children, driver die after school bus skids off road, falls into gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Si... - Hindustan Times

Seven people, including six children, died on Saturday when their bus skidded off the road and fell into a 150-metre gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, police said.

The incident took place in the early hours of the day near Renukaji, a known Hindu shrine about 40 km from district headquarters Nahan and 150 km from the state capital. The bus, carrying 18 people, was heading towards Adarsh Vidya Niketan school in Dadahu town.

Deputy superintendent of police of Nahan, Babita Rana, said three children — Sameer (5), Kartik (14), Adarsh (7) — and driver Ram Swaroop (41) died on the spot, while the other three children — Naitik Chauhan, Abhishek and Sanjana — succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital. “The remaining 11 injured, including the bus conductor, are undergoing treatment at the YS Parmar Medical College in Nahan. One critically injured has been referred to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh,” she added.

The injured have been identified as Sandya, Anjali and Ayush, all hailing from Kando village, while Rajiv, Rakshita, Vaishvi, Arushi and Sunder Singh of Mayina village, and Dhruv and Mannat hail from Sangrah village.

“Initial reports suggest that the driver had difficulty in negotiating the curve on the narrow road,” the DSP said.

School principal Dhanender Goyal claimed that the bus was in a good condition.

Deputy commissioner Lalit Jain said a relief of ?20,000 each will be given to the next of kin of the deceased and ?10,000 to the injured, along with free treatment.

A case has been registered at Sangrah police station under Sections 279,337,378 and 304 A of the Indian Penal Code.

Three farmers die in Theog

Meanwhile, three farmers died when a pickup van they were travelling in collided with a tree near Bharar in Shimla’s Theog.

The incident took place late on Friday when the van was on its way to Sainj from Chopal. Prima facie, the accident happened due to rash driving. There were a total of four occupants in the vehicle.

The deceased have been identified as Shivram (36) of Rajgarh, Dinesh Kumar (32) and Partap (40) – both residents of Satogh.